The Kick; Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder: Amish Mummy & Wild Wonder, #2

By Roy Forth

60,000+ words.

An unfortunate event was misinterpreted with tragic results. The misinterpretation was gleefully perpetuated by several actors for their own gratification.

An Amish family found their oldest child, their only daughter, dead in the weeds with a hole in her forehead.

An investigation found no reason for the hole in her head nor for her death. Therefore, it was assumed the father killed his daughter. When a hammer was found that perhaps could have been used to commit the crime, the father was charged with murder.

An especially gung ho detective pushed the charges as far as they could be pushed, past the point of reasonableness.

The bishop of the Amish church, who had personal reasons for doing so, convinced the church elders that God said to shun the entire family — father, mother, sons — of the dead girl.

Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder got involved.

Amid resistance from the bishop and his Amish, the dead girl was exhumed. The real reason for her death was determined (story spoiler has been omitted).

The charges were dropped. Still, the unreasonableness of the murder charge could not reverse a shun declaration that had been dictated by God.

To bypass the shun, Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder helped the damaged family start their own church. The new church had the same rules as the shunning church except there was one rule missing. Nobody would be shunned at the new Amish church, ever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Will Bontrager Software LLC
• Release date: May 24, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231411436

Book preview

Preface

This is the second book in the Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder series of novels. The first book, Grievous Acts, introduces the main characters of the series in ways you are unlikely to forget.

The story of this second book springs from an incident you will read about in the very first chapter. The incident leads to hurtful misunderstandings and conniving manipulations.

The ever-steering Amish woman known as Mummy and the ever-calm ex-Amish teenager known as Wild Wonder work together to affect an acceptable resolution.

As background, in case you have not read the first volume of this series, the Amish have their own language. The language is based mostly on German, with elements of other languages mixed in, Dutch in particular. Their current language evolved over a few centuries of segregated use.

The Amish language is unique.

Nearly all other persons that live and work around the Amish communities speak English. Thus, language is a handy distinction. The Amish refer to themselves as Amish and, among themselves, to everybody else as English.

Yes, according to the Amish point of view, you are English, no matter your nationality or primary language.

The Amish interact with the English as they must. But they much prefer to be left alone. They prefer to keep their business private within their community.

I, the author of this book, grew up Amish.

I was raised from babyhood to be Amish, to marry Amish, to use horse and buggy for going places, to farm with horse-drawn equipment, and to raise little Amish kids. My basic thought patterns and values were instilled during that period of time, from birth until the time came when I figured I was adult enough to make my own decisions.

Thus, my Amish experience was the first 17 years of my life. Almost 17, that is. I ran away from home in the Spring of the year I would have turned 17.

This book is a work of fiction, as is the previous book of this series and as will be the subsequent books of this series.

The story in this book describes how I assume the Amish would react should the events told in this book actually happen.

The story characters are based not on individuals I have known, but on cumulative impressions of people during both my days living with the Amish and my days living with the English.

I mention my upbringing because knowing the background of the author can add depth to understanding of a story.

Author life experiences affect their stories, no matter how much they try to keep their own experience out. The society the author was raised in, its assumptions and expectations, and the traditions the author was exposed to, all affect how the story is presented.

Stories reveal the characteristics of the author, to a degree. It may reveal only author interest or knowledge. Or, it may reveal much more. The author’s beliefs, upbringing, outlook on life, and hopes are examples.

During the reading of this story, you’ll gain insight into the life of Amish people and their symbiotic connection with their community. The more you read about the Amish, the more you tend to assimilate how the Amish community works. If you’ve never heard of the Amish, or have heard of them but know little about them other than assumptions you’ve made, be prepared to have your sense of reality jolted.

If you have interacted with the Amish more than just a fleeting nod in passing or a few words of conversation, assumptions may be a bit more fixed.

And if you are Amish or ex-Amish, you know the degree of plausibility of the events this story presents. You know the likelihood of the actions and reactions of the affected families, and the Amish community as a whole, should such events actually occur. It will depend, in part, which community you were raised in, of course, and how ingrained your parents were. But no doubt you will concur with most of the premises presented in this book.

Whoever you are, you are a reader.

Readers are my friends. If you feel up to it, let’s talk. (The RoyForth.com website has a contact link.)

Although I write for personal pleasure, readers make my writing truly worthwhile.

Enjoy the story :-)

Excerpts

From the Pie and Ice Cream chapter:

I appreciate Wild so thoroughly because she has handled today like she was working directly for God.

From the The Bishop chapter:

Wild, my friend, are you willing to work another miracle?

Of course, Warren. Why stop now? I say, let’s take advantage of inertia.

From the Strawberry Ice Cream chapter:

Wild, your dress flip did the trick. Oh, my. You must have red-flag thighs. Raymond was so ready for me that night. So very ready. And he kept going. And going. It was the best, the very best EVER!

From the Chaos chapter:

They asked who Raymond’s attorney was. They wondered why the Amish spoke their own language instead of English like everyone else. They wondered why the Amish used horses instead of tractors and cars. They even asked if Raymond Schwartz had been having an affair with his own daughter!

From the Hospital chapter:

Menno was devastated. He was fully and completely out of his normal universe, alone in his thoughts.

His secret trysts with Sarah now brought a wave of guilty conscience.

Overview

An unfortunate event was misinterpreted with tragic results. The misinterpretation was gleefully perpetuated by several actors for their own gratification.

An Amish family found their oldest child, their only daughter, dead in the weeds with a hole in her forehead.

An investigation found no reason for the hole in her head nor for her death. Therefore, it was assumed the father killed his daughter. When a hammer was found that perhaps could have been used to commit the crime, the father was charged with murder.

An especially gung ho detective pushed the charges as far as they could be pushed, past the point of reasonableness.

The bishop of the Amish church, who had personal reasons for doing so, convinced the church elders that God said to shun the entire family — father, mother, sons — of the dead girl.

Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder got involved.

Amid resistance from the bishop and his Amish, the dead girl was exhumed. The real reason for her death was determined (story spoiler has been omitted).

The charges were dropped. Still, the unreasonableness of the murder charge could not reverse a shun declaration that had been dictated by God.

To bypass the shun, Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder helped the damaged family start their own church. The new church had the same rules as the shunning church except there was one rule missing. Nobody would be shunned at the new Amish church, ever.

List of Characters

The characters you find here are in two sections. First is a list of primary characters who appear only in this story. Second is a list of characters that are intended to be present in all or most of the books in the Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder series.

Primary Characters for Only This Story

The Schwartz Family —

Raymond:

Husband and Father

Maria:

Wife and Mother

Sarah:

Daughter, age 12

Menno:

Son, age 11

William:

Son, age 7

David:

Son, age 5

The Cotton Family —

Joel:

Husband, farmer

Jan:

Wife, criminal attorney

Neil Schrock —

Assistant to County Attorney Warren Wenter (see The Wenter Family)

Linda Gersh —

A particularly gung ho detective.

Primary Characters for the Entire Amish Mummy and Wild Wonder Series

The Hershberger Family —

Warm:

Husband

Mummy:

Wife; widely known as a reliable consultant

Emma:

Daughter, age 7

The Nichols Family —

Jack:

Husband.

Melinda:

Wife; sister of Warren Wenter (see The Wenter Family)

Wild Wonder:

Ex-Amish; born as Amos; living as a young woman; making her home at the Nichols’ farm; soul sister of Helen (see The Cash Family)

The Wenter Family —

Warren:

Husband; county Attorney; brother of Melinda Nichols (see The Nichols Family)

Candy:

Wife

The Cash Family —

Hilda:

Older sister

Helen:

Younger sister; born as younger brother Henry; soul sister of Wild Wonder (see The Nichols Family)

The Gang —

Wild Wonder (see The Nichols Family):

Leader of the gang

Helen (see The Cash Family):

Assistant leader of the gang

Gang Members:

Joe, Fred, Leroy, Felix, George, Hank

Also Friends of Wild Wonder —

Alice:

Owner of Store Alice; lover of Sally

Sally:

Lifetime friend of the Nichols' and Wenter's; lover of Alice

It Started Out a Normal Day

In the barn, the parents and their two oldest children were engaged in early-morning milking. The younger two children were feeding the animals, getting distracted now and again in their childhood ways.

Twice a day, morning and evening, twenty cows had to be milked. Milking time for twenty cows, with four people milking, was about an hour.

When a cow was milked, the milk was carried to the water house and poured into a strainer. The strainer channeled the liquid into a ten-gallon milk can.

The water house had a tank of cold water within which the milk cans were set to cool the milk.

Maria, mother and wife, returned from the water house with an empty pail, ready to milk yet another cow. She happened to notice how anticipating her daughter's glance appeared as she looked at her older brother.

Maria shivered.

Oh, no! she lamented. Why does the daughter have to be like the mother? Why God? Why! I have repented. Why does Sarah have to go through the same inner torment?

A cat in front of her feet almost tripped Maria. Maria, who had always been good on her feet, realized she was letting herself be distracted from the job at hand.

She sat on a low stool and washed the udders of the next cow on her list. The milk pail was set under the teats. She grabbed two teats and squeezed the base shut. Then, slowly squeezing from the base toward the tip, the milk squirted out and into the pail.

The teats were squeezed again and again, until two teats no longer filled up from the udder. Then the other two teats got the same treatment.

Maria had never told anyone she wasn’t a virgin when she got married.

Dispensing virginity before marriage is something that never happens, in the minds of the Amish. It never is even acknowledged to be possible. Supposedly, the thought is never entertained.

Admitting that it happened would have created an uproar. There would have been meetings and prayers and asking the entire congregation for forgiveness. She simply didn’t want to deal with it. Staying mum was the best choice.

Nobody inquired about her chastity, never thought to do so. The idea would be an acknowledgment of an elephant in the room.

During her wedding night, when her new husband asked how she knew all the things she knew, her women just know these things satisfied Raymond. He was pleased.

Maria finished her last assigned cow just as the sun peeked above the horizon. The day promised to be cloudless and warm, with perhaps a breeze now and then. It would be a perfect day to get a lot of work done.

With her milking completed, she returned to the house. Breakfast had to be made. It needed to be on the table by the time the rest of the family finished their chores.

How do I talk to Sarah? Maria asked herself. Oh, I must talk to her. She is old enough to keep a secret, so I can let her know how it is that I understand exactly how she feels.

Breakfast is always substantial for an Amish family. With hard-working and hard-playing members, there must be both nutrition and volume so nobody goes hungry.

It would be good for Sarah and me to make breakfast together, mused Maria. It’s a lot of work and I could use some help. Raymond won’t mind, I think. William could take some of Sarah’s chores, even pitching hay from the loft. He’s old enough. He's a strong boy for being only seven years old.

William and his younger brother were about done with their chores. They had dispensed grain to the calves, the horses, and the chickens so the animals could have their breakfasts. Their last chore was collecting eggs from the henhouse.

Maria, like most Amish, lived within a cocoon of calm certainty that she is special to God and will reside in Heaven with Jesus after her trials on this earth. Even so, she doesn’t have any more psychic or clairvoyant insight than the English generally have.

The Amish speak their own language. Most non-Amish speak American English. Thus, to the Amish, referring to non-Amish as English is a handy distinction.

Maria stirred the coals in the firebox of the kitchen cooking stove. She added kindling.

Much had been prepared ahead of time so breakfast could be made quickly, once the stove heated sufficiently to get started. Everything that could be readied before breakfast had been made ready.

Boiled and sliced potatoes were nearby. There was also a quart jar of canned sausage from last fall’s butchering, gravy makings, and fresh milk. William and David would soon bring eggs from this morning’s gathering.

Maria didn’t know her world would be folded inside out, turned upside down, and crumpled into a wad like a piece of scrap paper. She didn’t know it would start within fifteen minutes after the family finished breakfast that very morning.

Although she had in the past felt a foreboding just before something bad happened, no sense of imminent disaster occurred to her now.

Immediately after breakfast, everybody would go full stride right into the projects they were assigned.

Raymond Schwartz harnessed a team of work horses. The team was brought out of the barn and tied to a hitching rail with long ropes so they could graze on the abundant grass nearby. His oldest son would be using this team to mow hay in the far field.

The horses munched on the grass with alacrity. A person might think they were half starved, the way they chowed down on the grass. But that’s not the reason they did so.

The reason is that they have learned to eat whenever they can because they’re likely to be mighty hungry before they get a break from work.

Returning to the barn, Raymond told his son, Menno, let’s mow the back twenty acres. If the warm, dry weather holds through the day, the hay will be ready for picking up by tomorrow afternoon. Or perhaps tomorrow morning if the day brings a breeze.

The mower was ready for the team right where those very same horses were unhitched the last time the mower was used.

The two oldest, sister and brother, Sarah and Menno, fed the cows for a top-off. The cows were to be released into the meadow after the family’s breakfast. The hay mangers in the horse stalls were replenished, too, ready for any horses that might be occupying the stalls during the day. Menno threw hay down from the loft while Sarah pitched it into the mangers.

They had sly smiles for each other, sharing an ongoing secret.

They knew there would be no opportunities to engage with each other this morning. It was the same every morning.

The reason was their father. He always stopped by to confirm the chores were done. Then the father, his only daughter, and his oldest son, meandered to the house for breakfast.

Menno and Sarah were uncertain what would happen should their secret ever be revealed. Harsh, heavy whippings, for sure. Harsh in the full sense of the word. And whatever else their father could think of. The whatever else part is why they were uncertain about exactly what would happen to their skins.

During the last several months, ever since that one day in Spring, their secret activities were engaged in only when they felt absolutely certain they would not get caught.

They generally found free time during Sunday afternoons.

On Sundays, their Lord’s Day, no unnecessary work was done. Chores were light. Their father generally took a Sunday nap. Their mother was pretty much always in the kitchen. Their younger brothers generally played games on the lawn in front of the house.

Thus, it was on Sundays when the sister and the brother might find an hour or two for exploring each other’s forbidden senses. Inside the equipment barn was a suitable area for their play.

The equipment barn had loose siding, perfect for watching through the cracks for anybody coming close. The inside had little light, which prevented people from looking in and seeing clearly.

As they worked together doing chores this fateful morning, each experienced a tingling whenever their sibling inadvertently touched them. They didn’t know that they would never again know each other in their private forbidden way.

William and David had their pre-breakfast job, too. William took his big brother duties seriously, directing 5-year-old David in the carrying of kindling for the kitchen stove. William carried the larger pieces.

The kindling was brought into the house and dumped into the wood box. The stove used small pieces of wood, not the huge chunks the living room stove used during the winter. The living room stove was the primary heat source during the snows and blizzards of the cold season and rarely used during the summer.

When the family arrived at the table, Raymond uttered the blessings. It was a happy breakfast. There was bantering and laughter. The food was good.

The children listened when mother talked. When father talked, everybody was quiet and paid strict attention. When neither parent was talking, it was permissible for the children to immerse in cheerful chatter.

Breakfast was somewhat hurried, as they generally are. On the farm, there is always so much to do. This was going to be a sunny and warm summer day to do things in. It was proclaiming itself to be a perfect working day.

Immediately after breakfast, the youngest two scampered outside to play. The morning was too pleasant to stay inside.

Sarah told Menno she would hitch up his team, and told her mother she would be back to help with the dishes and gardening.

Sarah kidded Menno, then all you have to do is go and mow.

She laughed a joyous laugh as she left the house. The screen door slammed shut behind her.

Menno’s I’ll release the cows to the pasture! was quickly followed by another sound of the screen door slamming itself shut.

Raymond left the house a few minutes later, after telling his wife to think about the family visiting her parents next Sunday. It would be off-church Sunday, he reminded Maria.

We should visit them at least once a month, he had remarked. We never know when something is going to happen to take them away from us.

Raymond headed toward the barn to pick up a pair of gloves for his morning work. He would be getting the thrasher ready for oat harvests coming up a bit later in the summer. Well, that’s what he thought he would be doing.

On the way to the barn, he glanced at the horses and noticed they were happily munching on the grass. He wondered that Sarah hadn’t yet hitched them to the mower like she said she would.

Maybe she’s in the barn talking to Menno, the father thought, and resumed his direction toward the barn.

In mid-stride, he turned his head for one more glance. His peripheral vision had noted something out of place. There was a patch of blue in the weeds at the edge of the yard, just beyond